When the ancient Polynesians invented surfing, they often used a paddle to help them navigate. Fast-forward a few millennia, and Stand-Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, finds itself trendy again. Part of its increasing popularity is that standing upright allows surfers to spot waves more easily and thus catch more of them, multiplying the fun factor. Paddling back to the wave becomes less of a strain as well. The ability to cruise along on flat inland water, surveying the sights, is another advantage. Finally, its a good core workout. If youre sold on the idea, schedule an intro SUP lesson, free with board and paddle rental, and you may find yourself riding the waves like a Polynesian king.More

Many of us remember coming home from our elementary schools with freshly glazed pinchpots, cups, or whatever else our young imaginations could conjure up. Saturday mornings at the Randall Museum can bring that memory back, or create a new one for the youngsters. Ceramics make great gifts — especially on Mothers' and Fathers' Day. Hop on board for the Randall's once-weekly class, and for $6 and two weeks to have your work fired and glazed, you'll have all the materials you need.More

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

The federal government currently has no business in state-legal medical cannabis. For that, we have to thank Congress, which last year cut funding from the Justice Department.

For the purposes of enforcing federal drug laws in states where cannabis use is legal, federal drug warriors currently have no budget, and no budget equals — well, nothing. (This is no empty gesture and does have teeth, as a federal judge in San Francisco ruled earlier this year.)

Some form of cannabis use, if not a California-level cannabis industry, is now legal in over half of the country. There's also a booming recreational marijuana marketplace in Washington, Colorado, and now Oregon.

All of that violates federal law, but for the most part, the feds have not appeared interested in shutting it all down — just shutting some of it down. About one-third of San Francisco's licensed dispensaries were shut down under federal pressure during a crackdown that ran from 2011 to about 2013. (The dispensaries were too close to schools and parks, the feds claimed.)

The feds are also still attempting to shut down Berkeley Patients Group and Oakland's Harborside Health Center, two of the Bay Area's larger pot clubs, with forfeiture claims.

The Justice Department's ability to do any of that is now curtailed, as U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer confirmed in an October ruling in the case of a Marin County dispensary, shut down by the feds, that seeks to reopen. As long as there's no federal budget for law enforcement, there can be no enforcing of the law.

That's good news for California's multi billion-dollar cannabis industry, which now need only worry about local lawmen and women.

But they will still need to be concerned about the taxman.

Another provision that would have allowed cannabis businesses to openly use banks did not make it into the final version. Under pressure from some sector of the Washington bureaucracy, most banks and credit unions refuse to accept accounts from cannabis businesses. Another measure to ease restrictions at the Veterans Administration also did not make the final cut.

Still, the ceasefire in what was a 40-year-plus war on weed remains in effect. If cannabis only needs to worry about a Cold War from the feds, that's a positive.

About The Author

Bio:
Chris Roberts has spent most of his adult life working in San Francisco news media, which is to say he's still a teenager in Middle American years. He has covered marijuana, drug policy, and politics for SF Weekly since 2009.

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